Heater for torpedoes.



PATENTED JUNE 25, 1907.

G. O. DAVISON.

HEATER FOR TORPEDOES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1906.

mvc 14 ioz GREGORY O. DAVISON, OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

HEATER FOR TORPEDOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 1907.

Application filed November 24,1906- Serial No. 344.977.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GREGORY 'C. DAVISON,-

lieutenant commander, United States Navy, a citizen of the United States, and stationed at New ort, in the county of Newport and State 0 Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heaters for To edoes; and I do hereby declare the follow1ng to be a full, clear, and exact ,descri 1 tion of the invention, such as will enable ot ers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in heaters for torpedoes, and the object of my invention is to produce a simple, automatically o erated heater which will thoroughly heat a l of the air used in the propulsion of automobile to edoes.

With this 0 ject in view, my invention consists in the construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed.

In-the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a side view of a torpedo, some of the internal parts being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of a part of the body of a torpedo on a larger scale showing my invention, and Fig. 3 is a cross section of the same taken through the stove.

In ordinary tor edoes, air is com ressed into the air cham er thereof, usualy to a pressure of about 2250 pounds to the square 111013. From a pound of this compressed air at the ordinary temperature of 70 degrees F., an energy of about 15,000 foot pounds may be developed. If, however, the temperature of the air is raised to about 600 degrees F., the same amount will develop 30,000 foot ounds of energy. This fact has already been taken advantage of in automobile torpedo construction, but the heaters now in use are objectionable in that the feed of the fuel is not uniform, the temperature of the air delivered to the engine is not constant as it gradually rises from the beginning of the run until the middle of the run and then gradually falls, so that the maximum benefit from heating the air is not obtained. Furthermore, 1n the ordinary construction the walls of the air flask are heated producing undesirable results in the nature of deterioration, and also in the loss of heat transmitted through the flask to the surrounding water. Furthermore, the heating of the air is not uniform, and much of the air escapes to the engine either in a cold state, or only partially heated.

It is the object of my invention to do away with these defects and produce a heater by which all the air delivered to the engine is evenly and completely heated from the beginning of the run to the end thereof.

In the drawings, 0. represents the to edo, of a well known type, various parts of t e interior mechanism being shown in dotted lines.

b and 0 represent the partitions screwed into internal annular ro ections d formin the air chamber into w 'ch air is compresse in the usual way.

e re resents t e thinner conical part of the torpe 0 attached to the rear of the air cham-' her, which is made with thicker walls to resist the heavy air pressure.

f is a partition arranged in the rear of the partition 0 forming a chamber d in which chamber are located the reservoirs h, i and j for the fuel, preferably alcohol. These re ce tacles are preferably made in the form of ho low cylinders with closed ends. They are arranged on different levels, as shown in Fig. 2.

70 represents a pipe by which the receptacle h may be filled, and m and n represent pipes for the escape of air from the receptacles '11 and These receptacles are all connected to a common delivery pipe g.

0 represents a plug adapted to fit in a screw threaded rojection in the part e. By removing t is plug a cohol may be poured through the tube It into the receptacle 7b, and it, of course, will rise to the same level in the three receptacles h, i and j as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the surplus air escaping through the pipes m and n.

The pipe g terminates in a jet burner 1", which is located in a depression tin the bottom of the stove s, which is made circular in shape and held in position by the brackets as within the air flask. The stove sis provided with openings u for the ,air, and is connected. by means of a pipe 12 to the engines. In the pipe gis located a valve w adapted to be operated by hand.

3 represents an ordinary cordite fuse carried in a tube 2 which is provided with an ordinary or well known means for igniting the fuse when the torpedo is discharged. The torpedo is, of course, provided with the ordinary War nose, charge of explosive material, operating engines, screws, and steering means,

but these form no part of my present inven- 131011.

The operation of the device is as follows. The valve 20 being closed, the air flask is charged with air under aheavy pressure in the usual manner, the rece tacles h, i and 7' being previously partiall led with alcohol or some other inflammab e fuel, and the plug p is placed in position. After the air chamer has been fully charged, the valve to is o ened, and the air then bubbles up through t e alcohol in the receptacles h, '1'. and 7' until the pressure in the top of these receptacles is e ual to the pressure in the air chamber. ter the torpedo is discharged, the air at once begins to be delivered through the pipe 12 to the engines, and the cordite fuse y is ignited by the discharge. The pressure in the air flaskimmediate y falls, whereupon the air confined in the, receptacles h, i and 7' forces the alcohol through the pipe 9 through the jet burner 1", Where it is ignited by the cordi-te fuse y, thus heating all the air which enters through the holes 'u, in the sides of the stove. It is obvious that all the air which goes to the engines must pass through the stove,- so that it must-become heated before it reaches the engines. Furthermore, the jet burner p sprays the alcohol giving better combustion and preventing the clogging of the pipe g by dirt.

An important feature of my invention is the arrangement of the three receptacles at diiferent levels, as shown in Fig. 2. This is designed for the purposeof giving a practically constant feed of alcohol to the stove, which, of course, is the ideal condition. The amount of alcohol fed from each of the receptacles h, i'and j, is, of course, practically the same per minute, but the amount of alcohol in the receptacle 7' is muchless in qgiiantity than it is in the receptacle i, so that t 's receptacle becomes empty of fuel much quicker than does the rece taele i, which in turnbecomes empty'of fue quicker than the receptacle it. By these means, a practically uniform feed is obtained.

By the use of m invention practically all the objections to t e present type of feeders are overcome.

Having thus described my invention, what eeawe I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a torpedo, the combination of an air flask, a stove therein rovided with air inlet openings located un erneath the center of air flask, of a stove therein provided with air inlet openings located below its center, a pipe connected to said stove near its top and adapted to lead compressed air from said stove to the engines, said stove being completely closedexcept for said air inlet openlugs and said pipe, a burner located within said stove, and means for regularly supplying fuel to said burner, substantially as described.

3. In a torpedo, the combinationwith the air flask, of a stove, provided with openings, mounted in said air flask, and having a depression at its bottom, a pipe leading from said stove to the engines through which all the air for operating the engines must pass, a burner located in the depression at the bottom of said stove, and a plurality of fuel reconnected to said burner, substantially as described.

4.. In a torpedo,-the combination with the air flask, of a stove located therein and supported by said flask, said stove being provided with holes for the entrance of air thereinto, and with a depression at its bottom, a burner provided with radial holes located in said depression, fuel receptacles arranged at 95 ceptacles located at difi'erent heights and IOO diiferent heights, all connected with saidburner, and an air pipe leading from said stove to the engines, substantially as described.

5. In a torpedo, the combination of a plurality of receptacles arranged at diflerent levels, a burner, connections between said receptacles and said burner, a depressed portion in the torpedo casing, connections between said depressed portions and the to ps of the respective fuel receptacles, and a plug adapted to open or close all of said last named connections, substantially as described.

6. In a torpedo, the combination of a stove provided with openings for the entrance of air thereinto, a pipe for conducting air from said stove to the engines, a burner located in the lower part of said stove, a plurality of receptacles arranged at different levels, a pipe connected to sand burner and to all of said receptacles, and a valve in said pipe, substantially as described.

7. In a torpedo,.-the combination with the air flask thereof, of a stove centrally located burner, a valve in said connections, and igin said air flask and provided with openings niting means, substantially as described. 10 for the entrance of air thereinto, a pi e In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, adapted to deliver air from said stove to t e in presence of two witnesses.

engines, a jet burner located in said stove GREGORY C. DAVISON.

near the bottorn thereof, aplurality of fuel Witnesses:

receptacles arranged at different levels, con- GEO. H. PROUD,

nectlons between said receptacles and said S. B. THOMAS. 

